Home
by anamika
Summary: Completely AU. Seth and Summer make their individual ways back to Newport after 8 years only to find that some things never change.
1. Prologue Thoughts

Title - Home  
  
Rating - G for this part.  
  
Disclaimer - Unfortunately, the OC does not belong to me. However if it did, it wouldn't be the OC  
  
Summary - Completely AU. Seth and Summer make their individual ways back to Newport after 8 years only to find that some things never change.  
  
Genre - Romance/Angst  
  
Author's Note - My first ever attempt at fanfic of any kind. Pls. review but be gentle. Also, I haven't lived in North America for very long and I've never lived in the States though I've visited. Some of the details may be a bit off though I have tried to cover my tracks.  
  
Prologue - Thoughts  
  
Seth Cohen looked at the familiar expanse of beach and took in a deep breath. It smelled of sun, sand, surf, hot dogs and money. It smelt like home. As the sun began it's daily, spectacular orange dip, he took off his shoes and experimentally twisted his toes in the sand. Satisfied with the results, he began his solitary walk. Soon he had left behind the young and the beautiful for quieter, less-populated shores.  
  
This was fun. He had forgotten how much fun it could be. This summer that would all change. For three long months, he would forget Harvard, Boston, his thesis, everything. He would focus on life's little things. The beach, food, his family. He deserved it and his family deserved to have him here. For too long, trips back home had consisted of hurried holiday happiness and the occasional weekends. This was supposed to be his big comeback tour. True, the groupies weren't exactly ripping their t-shirts off in anticipation but Seth didn't care. He was just soaking it all in. He was also honing his master plan.  
  
Seth Cohen's recipe for a perfect summer: 1. Lounge around at beach doing nothing. 2. Lounge around in the pool doing nothing. 3. Lounge around the house doing nothing. A fine plan it was too! He nodded his head agreeably. The most strenuous thing he was going to do all summer was not eat his mother's cooking. The not eating was not strenuous but the sheer amount of words that went into the pre and post-cooking melodrama by way of threats and pleas made it exhausting. Never worked though, rarely did. But he kept at it anyway. He would always attempt to rid the world of Kirsten Cohen's cooking or he would die trying. It was his heritage; it was his legacy; it was his birthright. He was a Cohen male!  
  
Seth looked around him bemused. Apparently four years of economics at Stanford and another two at Harvard had still not rid him of inane verbal flourishes. He shrugged his shoulders and ambled on. He had missed this. He stopped short again to ponder over the unwritten subtext in that thought. When had he begun missing Newport? When had this paradise on earth to everybody but him become home? It wasn't exactly a bad home to have. Two winters in Boston had taught him that. He had never thought he would yearn for it though. But he had. He wondered if Summer yearned for it. Whoa! Where the hell had that come from? Seth paused, physically and mentally. He was not sure if he wanted to continue this walk if it meant continuing that particular strain of thought. After a second he gave up. He had stopped trying to reason with his brain many moons ago.  
  
Did she though? Miss the home she had so mysteriously left 8 years ago. The familiar whys and hows of Summer's great escape came back to haunt Seth. She had just gone. One moment, she had been kissing him in the pool house. Next, he had trampled all over her newly discovered feelings for him. And then she was gone. Without a word to anyone. Not even Marissa. Long forgotten guilt began to worm it's way into his heart. It couldn't all be his fault, but his thoughtless actions hadn't helped. He mentally kicked himself for the 23029437549th time.  
  
He also began to remember very valid reasons for staying away for so long. Lounging around doing nothing was a masterstroke, lounging around doing nothing in Summer's backyard - not so smart. Not that he needed to be here to think of her. He thought of her at the oddest times. Flashes of long- suppressed memories came back to him when he least expected it. When his guard was down. When he was debating the merits of one salsa over the other at the supermarket, when he saw squirrels especially skinny ones, when he passed by Disney stores that prominently displayed redheaded mermaids. Except to him the mermaids always had swinging black hair and flashing onyx eyes. Not just mermaids. All the women that seemed to catch his eye shared the same physical attributes. Apparently the population of petite brunettes in the United States had inexplicably exploded. First, they had taken over Newport exactly around the time Summer had left. Then, they had been everywhere on Stanford's vast campus and now, it seemed like they single- handedly made up the female population of all his classes.  
  
He always looked. He always searched. He was always disappointed. Some had her eyes but not quite. Others had her hair but not really. None of them were ever her. Sometimes it didn't matter. He would lose himself in them anyway. Temporary balms to ease adolescent wounds. Again, one of those plans of his that never worked. Maybe he needed to rethink his visions of genius. He certainly needed to rethink this walking on the beach thing. Especially when his feet seemed to be moving towards yet another petite brunette.  
  
His heart stopped as it always did at the first distant glimpse. Then it went into overdrive, his palms became sweaty and his mind did things only his mind was capable of doing. Somewhere deep in the recesses of his mysterious brain, warning signals began to flash. Another dose of cold hard reality was coming up. This one was a fine replica though, he grimaced. She had most of it down pat even the once familiar hands on her hips. He challenged her to turn, to brutally destroy yet another day dream. Pulled by some unknown force, the girl whipped around and Seth's world came crashing down. Finally, after years spent in his dreams and nightmares, Summer Roberts was home. Seth Cohen gulped. 


	2. Words

Title - Home  
  
Rating - G for this part.  
  
Disclaimer - Unfortunately, the OC does not belong to me. However if it did, it wouldn't be the OC  
  
Summary - Completely AU. Seth and Summer make their individual ways back to Newport after 8 years only to find that some things never change.  
  
Genre - Romance/Angst  
  
Author's Note - Thanks bibleboymary4ever (love the name!) and ericanddonna4ever (strange synchrocity there!).reviews rock!..  
  
Chapter 1 - Words  
  
No! No! No! Not like this! NO! NO! NO!  
  
Summer's mind raced, while her brain spewed forth strident negatives. She knew from the day she had stepped back into the rarefied air of Newport's uber-rich, that she would have to face him. She also knew from various snatches of conversations with his mother, that he was at Harvard but was planning to come back for the summer. She had hoped that their first meeting would be at some tiresome Newport society event. She would be dressed in some heavenly couture creation and he would be in a tux. Over flutes of champagne and trays of Brie, they would be coolly civil and politely pleasant. They would be Mr. Cohen and Ms. Roberts, not Seth and Summer. They had never been Seth and Summer anyway. There had been a chance long ago but then he....no..she...it happened. Summer did not want to go there. That was over, it was her past. She was here because she had to be. But soon she would be gone.  
  
All that wishing and hoping had resulted in this. She was here in her oldest pair of jeans and the only clean t-shirt she had found. Her half- hour at the beach had resulted in her hair looking like it had been styled courtesy Medusa's personal hairdresser and Serena....Good Lord! Serena. Summer did a quick about-turn to check but the child seemed undisturbed. So she invoked a short prayer for courage, turned back around and said cautiously, "Hey Seth."  
  
To Seth it seemed like all the world had come to a screeching halt. She was there, in front of him. It really was her. The raven hair was much longer, the liquid eyes were wary and her luscious curves were more covered up, but it really was her. He watched in wonder as a strange series of emotions played across her face. Shock, then horror, then anxiety, then nothing. It became expressionless and closed. That was when her soft greeting came out, jolting him. He opened his mouth. Then realised that no words had come out. So he tried again. This time he managed a strangled "Summer". Yup! Definitely was her. No other woman in all his 24 years had managed to have quite the same effect on his body, mind and all 5 senses.  
  
He walked closer, still not quite believing. He had played this scene over and over in his mind for 8 years. Sometimes he had run into her at a chic New York bookstore, sometimes they had met each other over coffee and croissants at a bistro in Paris. Yet for some reason, he had never thought to imagine her here. Where she belonged and strangely enough, where he belonged too. This strange feeling of belonging in Newport coupled with her out of the blue appearance was too much even for Seth's brain to compute. He could feel it shutting down and he wished he could do the same.  
  
"So how are you?" she enquired. After all these years that didn't seem to fit but she couldn't think of anything else and apparently neither could he.  
  
"Uhm...good. You?"  
  
"Good."  
  
"Good..that's...uhm..good."  
  
Sheesh! Obviously when his brain shut down, whatever other temporary mechanism took over picked a word and fixated on it, aided and abetted by his mouth.  
  
"Mommy...home now?"  
  
What? WHAT?!!!!!? WHAT was THAT?!! It was not him. He was the Einstein whose current vocabulary consisted of a single word. Sentences were beyond him. And whatever the hell you wanted to label his voice, it wasn't childish and well, girly.  
  
Summer twisted around, scrambling to pick up varied beach paraphernalia, all the while talking in short staccato spurts.  
  
" I have to go...I must go...She wants to..I need to...we'll..I'll...see you!"  
  
She turned to Seth with a child on her hip and a bag on her shoulder and gave him a small smile before she ran. Seth remained frozen. Not having a brain in use did that to him. He watched her tiny figure holding a tinier figure tear across the sand towards the bright lights of Newport and then stopped breathing as she turned. Summer looked back to see the boy she had once known outlined in the last rays of the golden sun.  
  
"And Seth...Welcome home!"  
  
"Welcome home" he repeated dazedly. "Welcome home!" 


	3. Secrets

Title - Home  
  
Rating - I suck at this. PG maybe.  
  
Disclaimer - Unfortunately, the OC does not belong to me. However if it did, it wouldn't be the OC  
  
Summary - Completely AU. Seth and Summer make their individual ways back to Newport after 8 years only to find that some things never change.  
  
Genre - Romance/Angst  
  
A/N - all reviews are much appreciated....  
  
Chapter 2 -Secrets  
  
Seth didn't know how he got home. He remembered driving, a couple of not so polite comments about his driving and a few fingers flipped at him. He didn't care. She was back. This he cared about. She had a child. A daughter who didn't look like her. This he really cared about. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the handle on the front door. He pictured a blonde man with blue eyes leaning over Summer.  
  
Dammnit. Of course there would have been men. He hoped they had made her happy. There had been women in his life too. They had made him happy. For a while. He had never imagined marrying any one of them. Having a child with any one of them. That was reserved for..  
  
This was pointless. She was home and she had a child. End of story. A lifetime of dreams, all gone, just like that. He should just go on. He always had his master plan, he thought grimly as he walked through the front door.  
  
"Hey honey," mouthed Kirsten as she continued to pretend to listen to someone on the phone. He raised a tired hand. He just wanted to lie down.  
  
All of Kirsten's maternal instincts kicked into high gear. "Uhm..Carol can I call you back? Yes, I know what happened with Mary Ann is important. I'll call you back in an hour. Yes, then you can tell me about Marcie too. Of course, Kathy as well. I always wait in breathless anticipation for news about Kathy. Goodbye now."  
  
Kirsten looked at her son's drawn face and closed eyes as he leaned gracelessly against the front door. "You saw her," she said quietly. His eyes flew open.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Summer...you saw her?"  
  
"You knew? You knew!! Mom!"  
  
"Seth, honey..I.."  
  
"No Mom, don't honey me. Not now." His eyes were flashing now. He didn't seem to know what to do with his hands. He ran them through his hair, something he had obviously done several times in the past hour judging by the state of the mop on his head.  
  
"Did you share a table with her and her precious husband at some fake high society do?" he spat out. He had never spoken to his Mother like this before but he was past caring.  
  
" Did you make googly eyes at their angelic cherub while reminiscing about the fun times we all had together. Thanksgiving 2003 maybe? Wasn't that just hilarious, Mom or are your memories still slightly addled by the fact that you were drunk out of your mind. Tijuana then? Did you share a good laugh about TJ?"  
  
" Seth. Seth! What are you talking about? Husband, cherubs, parties? I saw her at the Crab Shack when I went to pick up some food. She was alone. We've seen each other around after that. She asked about you but said nothing about herself. It was awkward. Every time I saw her, I vowed that I would tell you. I even had my speech all written out. But it was never the right time and I always lost my nerve," Kirsten concluded sadly  
  
He collapsed on the sofa; head down in defeat. Kirsten went up to him. She cupped his chin and saw his eyes, wet with unshed tears. "She's changed. There's something not right, Seth. I don't know what it is. She hasn't been out. Not even once in the two months that she's been back. Her stepmother shows up at all the parties but won't say a word about her. Julie said that Marissa had called her but her stepmother pretended not to know where she was, then amended the story to say, she was out. I haven't seen a husband or a child. I've barely seen her."  
  
"I saw her. At the beach. She had a child. A little girl. She was beautiful. The child was beautiful too. It was like she had never left. Except now she has a family." Each word was wrenched from him. A solitary tear ran down his cheek.  
  
"This is not the way it was supposed to be." His voice broke on the last word and his face crumpled.  
  
Kirsten just held him. She didn't know what to do. Her mind reeled from all that Seth had said and her heart ached for him. The sound of the phone cut through the air, jarring both Seth and Kirsten. She smiled gently as she looked at the number.  
  
"Maybe this will help." 


	4. Rants

Title - Home  
  
Rating - PG for some language  
  
Disclaimer - Unfortunately, the OC does not belong to me. However if it did, it wouldn't be the OC  
  
Summary - Completely AU. Seth and Summer make their individual ways back to Newport after 8 years only to find that some things never change.  
  
Genre - Romance/Angst  
  
A/N - Wow! Some of those reviews are making me blush. Thanks guys! Btw Is this getting too soapish? I thought I had this all planned out but now I'm not sure. And Oh! I loathe this chapter. Just isn't coming out right, which is why it's so short..  
  
Chapter 3 - Rants  
  
Ryan Atwood surveyed the New York skyline coated in dreary, rainy grey as he listened to the silence on the other end of the line. After nearly a decade, he had learnt to decode Seth's rare silences. This one, Silence Type # 10 was the most ominous. He knew something was horribly, terribly wrong. It couldn't be Sandy or Kirsten because that would have meant Silence Type # 4, the kind that led to hysteria.  
  
"She's back," Seth mumbled dully.  
  
Oh! OH! That explained a lot. It definitely explained Marissa's drunken, rambling message on his machine. That had been two weeks ago. He had been playing phone tag with her since then. Rather he had been playing phone tag with one of her many minions. He hated her minions with a raw, burning passion that was only eclipsed by the minions' hate for him. But that was a whole another saga.  
  
He used Seth's painful pause to hurriedly flip open his laptop, fumbling madly in his attempts to find the flight that would get him home quickest.  
  
"Don't come," Seth muttered. "I can deal with this."  
  
Ryan waited. He knew all too well what was coming next.  
  
"All I ever wanted was a fucking chance. One shot. One! How hard is that for the universe to comprehend," Seth exploded into the phone.  
  
"Instead I had to watch her feeding squirrels at 8 and picking up pot- bellied bankers at 16. When I had a semblance of chance, I screwed up. Something I do extraordinarily well judging by my not so-glorious history with women. Then she vanishes and I spend 8 years wishing for this very day. But of course when she shows up, she has a child in tow. And there must be some smarmy but suave real-estate-rat-type somewhere not far behind."  
  
Seth stopped to take in some much needed air and angrily wipe the tears off his face. Ryan knew a chance when he saw one. "Seth, the comprehensible part of what you said is merely you jumping to conclusions. She had a child. It may not be her child."  
  
Seth however would not be mollified. "Of course it's hers. Summer Roberts, Newport's 'It Girl' extraordinaire, would not be dragging other people's snotty-nosed brats around. Gucci says that's a strict fashion accessory no- no.," he lashed out bitterly.  
  
"Summer Roberts, Newport's 'It Girl' extraordinaire, would not leave for 8 years without good reason," Ryan reasoned. "Something happened, Seth. Don't judge her before you know what it was. The only way to find out is to talk to her again."  
  
"No! I'm done! No more! Screw this!"  
  
"Seth, this is Summer. You're never going to be done until you know there isn't a chance in hell. That's why you've being building elaborate castles in the air since she left."  
  
"I hate that you've picked up my worst habits. Like talking."  
  
"I hate that you've picked up my worst habits. Like not trusting."  
  
"Why should I trust her?"  
  
"Because you knew the girl. I just knew the bitch." 


	5. Decisions

Title - Home  
  
Rating - PG again or maybe G.  
  
Disclaimer - Unfortunately, the OC does not belong to me. However if it did, it wouldn't be the OC.  
  
Summary - Completely AU. Seth and Summer make their individual ways back to Newport after 8 years only to find that some things never change.  
  
Genre - Romance/Angst  
  
Author's Note - Questions, questions, questions. all will be answered soon. Read on and keep reviewing.  
  
Chapter 4 - Decisions  
  
Summer twisted moodily on her bed. She surveyed the shadows around her and crinkled her nose in disgust. They all seemed to form fingers that pointed at her. She thought she heard echoes that hissed 'coward!' Obviously eating an entire gallon of mint chocolate chip ice cream and washing it down with heavily sugared cappuccino resulted in insanity. And running away from your could-have-been, would-have-been something-friend resulted in guilt, the kind that kept you awake into the wee hours of the morning, the kind that gnawed at every nerve and fibre in your body, the kind that led to fingers itching to tap out somebody's number on the phone.  
  
Sighing, Summer left her bed to stand at the bay window that framed her room. From it she saw the always-soothing sight of the soft sand caressed by even softer waves and for some reason that got her thinking about toes. Seth's toes, digging into the sand for support when he had first seen her. Then wiggling nervously as he had attempted to put his surprise into words. He hadn't changed all that much. He had filled out a little bit but he still retained that lanky grace and that delicious dimpled smile and his chocolate curls and.. She smiled wistfully as she recalled in breathtaking detail all the little things about Seth's features that were dear to her. Her favourite was the surprise dimple that peeked through his chin. Only when he was really serious like he had been in his impassioned defence of Magic the Gathering on a muggy night in a dingy motel somewhere in Mexico. It also appeared when he was trying to talk his way out of trouble like he had been the last time she had seen him. She could still hear his plaintive pleas. But she had been too hurt to care. On the verge of an epic rage blackout, she had stormed out of his house and his life without so much as a glance behind. Maybe if she had turned, things would have been different. For so many people. In so many ways.  
  
Seth twisted moodily on his bed. Ryan's words echoed in his head. Talk to her. Trust her. Talk to her. Trust her. Talk...Shut up! Shuttup! Shaddap! This was ridiculous. He was 24 years old and acting like he was 16. Well, it wasn't so ridiculous. He did it all the time especially when he was kicking Ryan's butt in the electronic interactive multi-media sense of the term. But this was different. He sighed and burrowed his head into his pillow. If he really wanted to be honest with himself, it wasn't different. When it came to Summer, he was still 16. Over the years, his dreams had become more fanciful, more adult, not in the double entendre sense but in terms of what he wanted from her. It had been easy because she had not been there to rudely pull his head out of the clouds. But essentially, even in his dreams, he remained the geek who wanted the goddess.  
  
Now it was time to wake up. No more dreaming. It was time for the geek to grow-up and say goodbye to the goddess. Metaphorically, of course, because he wasn't calling her. Not at all! Never! Now that most of the red-hot rage had dissipated, throwing her earring in her face didn't seem that necessary. He had found it the morning after that horrid Thanksgiving when he had gone into the pool house to pour out his tale of woe once again to Ryan. He had pocketed it with full intention of giving it back. Of course that had never happened. It had started off in his pocket as a souvenir but it had become a talisman. A sign if you will, to reassure him that she would come back. To claim what was hers.  
  
The clock on the table read 4.30am. The phone rang but stopped before he could get to it. He looked at the number and took in a deep breath.  
  
She placed the receiver down and shook her head firmly. Before she could move, it rang loudly. She looked at the number and took in a deep breath.  
  
"Hey."  
  
That was me before."  
  
"I know."  
  
"I thought.."  
  
"Lunch?"  
  
"Tomorrow at 1....at...."  
  
"The Crab Shack?"  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Good."  
  
"Good."  
  
"I said that already."  
  
"I know."  
  
"So....Good Night?"  
  
"Good Morning, if you want to be specific...."  
  
"Good Morning then."  
  
"Good Morning."  
  
Two phones clicked back into place. Two long breaths were expelled. Two troubled people fell into bed and slept. Soundly and peacefully. 


	6. Surprises

Title - Home  
  
Rating - G for this part.  
  
Disclaimer - Unfortunately, the OC does not belong to me. However if it did, it wouldn't be the OC  
  
Summary - Completely AU. Seth and Summer make their individual ways back to Newport after 8 years only to find that some things never change.  
  
Genre - Romance/Angst  
  
Author's Note - Worked on this all day and still not happy with it. Thanks for all the reviews though.  
  
Chapter 5 - Surprises  
  
Seth mechanically shredded the paper napkin and added it to the growing pile in front of him. It was only thing that was keeping him from bolting. She was late. Or she was gone again. Seth was not sure which scenario he hated more. He had spent the last half hour coming up with reasons for her lateness, each more unpleasant than the other, all involving a blonde man and a blonde baby. The other scenario he didn't dare think about. It reeked of been-there, done-that, never-want-to-do-that-again, thanks! He distractedly flicked the pile of tissue in front of him resulting in a cloud of white flakes.  
  
"Wishing for snow?" Summer asked with a grin.  
  
"Actually no, I've seen enough snow to last me a lifetime in Boston. If I never see another snowflake again, it would be too soon. I've taken the Weather Channel off my must-see TV list because of the horrors of snowy climes. The mere thought that the poor people of Alaska are snow-bound for, well, it seems like half their existence really, gives me the chills. No not chills, that's a horrible word. Because you get the chills when you're cold and you're cold in the winter and winter is when it snows.  
  
"Shivers? You could substitute it for chills." Summer offered.  
  
Seth glared at her. "Are you trying telling me in your own inimitable style that I was rambling. Because I was. I'm an incurable rambler. Everybody knows that. It's part of my appeal. And my charm. My appealing charm. Or you could say my charming appeal, which works just as well. Or.."  
  
Summer sat down and looked up at him through her lashes. "I'm sorry I'm late."  
  
"Didn't notice it. No..really. Just got here myself. I've decided that if I can't be fashionably dressed. I can be fashionably late. Not that I want to be fashionably dressed. I prefer my..You're looking at me funny again."  
  
"That's because you were rambling again."  
  
" I thought you found it charming."  
  
"No, you thought it was charming. I just looked at you funny when you said it."  
  
"Right. I must re-learn your non-verbal cues now that you're back."  
  
Summer gave him another unfathomable look and said, "So...food?"  
  
-------------------------------  
  
"I've been here as many times as I can the last two months. But I still want more. I could live the rest of my life at the Crab Shack."  
  
Seth looked at her over his glass of iced tea, bit back the question that instantly rose to his lips and thoughtfully placed the glass back down.  
  
" Your daughter keeps you busy?"  
  
"Serena, her name is Serena. Yes, she does though she's not my daughter."  
  
He stifled the overwhelming urge to get down on his knees and thank all the gods in all the world.  
  
"But she will be soon. My daughter that is," Summer amended.  
  
Okay not so thankful right now. Why was talking she talking in riddles? Really some women took the lyrics of insipid pop songs about the mysteries of the female race way too seriously, which is why he championed Death Cab, nice music in plain American.  
  
"Summer...I"  
  
"Have questions? Want answers? You want answers, explanations, justifications."  
  
"You don't have to if you don't want to."  
  
"I know I have to."  
  
Summer looked out to the pier and despite all the cheery noise surrounding them, Seth got the uncomfortable feeling that she was all alone right now. In some cold place where there was no noise, no cheer and definitely no beach balls.  
  
Still looking away from him, Summer began talking in a soft monotone. "She's my sister's daughter which makes her my niece. But she's always been my daughter. I've raised her since she was a baby. Linda gave her to me. She just showed up on my doorstep one day and said here. I didn't know why then. I know now."  
  
Seth's mind boggled. Sister? Niece? Huh? But he sagely kept his mouth shut and allowed her to continue.  
  
Summer looked at Seth's face, which clearly reflected his confused state of mind and sighed. She looked away and said ruefully, "Let me start at the beginning. Linda is my sister. Was my sister. Was my step-sister. My stepmother's daughter from her first marriage. She's..sorry...was older, almost 10 years older. She rarely came to Newport. She preferred Paris. We weren't close or anything. But she liked me and I liked her, which is more than I can say for the rest of my family. We had an understanding of each other that went beyond the age-difference. She was the only one who cared, really."  
  
She blinked back some tears and continued on, "She helped me..more like saved me...uhm I mean....we stayed in touch.. after...after I...after I left." Seth noted the hesitation and the choice of words but said nothing.  
  
"Two years ago she came to Rome. I was studying there. She had a two-month old baby with her. Serena. She didn't give me any explanations. Just said that she couldn't take care of her. She didn't want to leave her with just anyone though. She wanted the best for her and so she came to me. She thought I was ready...for...uhmmm...she thought it would be good for me. I didn't ask too many questions. I was just returning the favour really. She hadn't said a word about my sudden arrival at her doorstep when I had needed her. And she was right. I was ready for Serena. I needed someone like Serena. She's the best thing that ever happened to me, Seth. It sounds so clichéd but she changed my life.  
  
Her eyes were closed now, the tears began to flow freely and her voice dropped so low that Seth had to lean far forward just to catch it. "But apparently my life has a strange curse on it. I can't hang on to happiness. I came back because my sister was here. She had come back to Newport to die. That's why she gave up Serena. She knew she couldn't beat the cancer and she didn't want either of us to see her lose the battle. My step-mom called me in tears two months ago. She was really hysterical even by her high standards. First I thought it was the pills but ultimately got the whole story out of her. Linda was here and she was bad. So I came back. I came home to say goodbye."  
  
Seth reached out over the table and took her hand. Summer, barely hanging on to her composure, held on for dear life. He looked into her beautiful eyes and in that single moment, Seth forgave her. For everything. Because he knew instinctively, there was a lot she had left unsaid. Behind the tears, her eyes still held secrets. Secrets that were much worse. 


	7. Beginnings

Title - Home  
  
Rating - G for this part.  
  
Disclaimer - Unfortunately, the OC does not belong to me. However if it did, it wouldn't be the OC  
  
Summary - Completely AU. Seth and Summer make their individual ways back to Newport after 8 years only to find that some things never change.  
  
Genre - Romance/Angst  
  
Author's Note - Sorry about the shortness of this chapter but life is intervening. I have an essay due and of course I haven't written a single word. I'll update soon to make-up for this I swear.  
  
Chapter 6 - Beginnings  
  
Seth had never imagined he would ever find a woman as captivating as Summer. Until he had met her. Well, she wasn't a woman exactly, a girl would be more realistic, a baby if you really wanted to be all-technical about it. But in the two weeks since they had been properly introduced, Serena Roberts had slowly but surely wrapped Seth Cohen around her little finger. And never had there been a more happier wrapped-around-the-finger man. Serena beckoned and Seth scrambled. Serena pouted and Seth melted. Serena demanded and Seth provided. It really was the most mutually beneficial relationship. Serena had found the first man she would ever love and Seth had found the only other woman he would ever love. Except his mother of course. But her place was so secure; she wasn't even on the list. It went without saying that Kirsten really didn't need to know that specific detail. It might lead to her baking in joy.  
  
Summer watched the only two people who mattered to her now gamboling in the sand. Serena was a happy, gurgling 2-year old and though Seth generally functioned best when he was reliving his teens, reliving his 2-year old self had its perks. There really wasn't much of a difference anyway. Summer giggled. Now, there was a match made in heaven. She turned her gaze away from the frolicking twosome to the turbulent sea. The sea always seemed to pick up her moods and as the waves grew higher and more violent, Summer's thoughts became more confused and complex. What in the world was she going to do? She had planned to flee Newport as soon as possible. But Seth made all thoughts of fleeing really difficult. He had been perfect. Actually, he had been Seth. But since the day she had seen him again, the two had been interchangeable.  
  
For 8 years, she had built walls around her. Slowly, painstakingly, built high, solid walls that were now crumbling by the hour and Summer didn't quite know what to do about it. She wasn't sure if she was ready to have anyone other than Serena in her life. But seeing Seth made her want to be ready. Made her want the life she had thought had died in Newport. It scared her, terrified her more than anything. But going away and not seeing Seth again scared her too, terrified her more than anything.  
  
"Talked to Marissa yet?" Seth tossed at her as he settled down beside her. He was always careful to keep a safe distance. Something told him she needed her space.  
  
"No. But I talk to her minions over and over. I feel like I know them and hate them."  
  
"Minions-hate. Awesome. You should join Ryan's club. The 'I HATE Marissa's Minions So Much It Hurts' Club. Currently, he's the president, secretary, treasurer and sole member. It's cool. They have parties and everything. Well, pity parties actually but that's a minor matter. I can get you in. I have connections," Seth finished authoritatively.  
  
In response, Summer gave her first real full-blown smile and Seth forgot all other thoughts that had been forming, rambling and rational.  
  
"So I was thinking," Seth began uncertainly, recollecting his scattered wits. "Don't look at me like that! I think! All the time!"  
  
"That's the problem!" Summer shot back.  
  
"Funny, Roberts! Real funny!"  
  
"Thanks, Cohen. I aim to amuse"  
  
They looked at each other, mildly stunned. Her easy use of his last name had been missing these past few weeks. The way it had rolled off her tongue now like it had so often, so many years ago, took them both off guard. They were going back to what they had been. Maybe this time, they would both be brave enough to face what they could have become. 


	8. Fears

Title - Home  
  
Rating - G for this part.  
  
Disclaimer - Unfortunately, the OC does not belong to me. However if it did, it wouldn't be the OC  
  
Summary - Completely AU. Seth and Summer make their individual ways back to Newport after 8 years only to find that some things never change.  
  
Genre - Romance/Angst  
  
Author's Note - Thanks once again for all the reviews  
  
Chapter 7 - Fears  
  
Summer sceptically surveyed her reflection in the mirror. In a vain attempt to soothe her frayed nerves, she repeated to herself, "It'll be okay! It'll be okay! It'll be okay!" She had been unsure about this from the moment Seth had suggested it. Her absence from all Newport society functions had been calculated. She had chosen to deal with her grief privately. The much- reviled but equally heartbroken stepmother, on the other hand, chose to deal with her grief by going to one glittering celebration after the other, bravely conning everyone, herself included, into believing that nothing was wrong. Summer no longer had the strength for charades. But Seth had cajoled enthusiastically and unendingly till she had given in. Now she wished...  
  
Summer started guiltily as the doorbell chimed. Seth had done so much for her, this was the least she could do for him. Repeating her mantra, she hurried down the spiral staircase, took a calming breath at the foot of the stairs and threw open the door.  
  
Seth, appropriately Armani-suited and Ferragamo-booted, lounged carelessly against a white pillar, a still-blooming white rose in hand.  
  
"How did you know the colour of my dress?" she queried taking the rose from him.  
  
"Magic," he said conspiratorially, straightening himself fluidly.  
  
"Well, your mother is a magician. I would never have picked this for myself."  
  
Seth gave her a sweeping glance and felt his chest constrict. There was a time when Summer's wardrobe had driven him crazy, all barely there-skirts and tight shirts. His vivid teenage imagination had had a field day. But since her return, her sartorial choices had been unusually subdued, devoid of bright colours and covering as much of her lush body as was humanly possible. This alternative Summer also drove him crazy. His imagination had been working overtime picturing all that the clothes hid. Tonight, for the first time he caught a glimpse of the lady she had become. Summer at 16 had been effortlessly enticing. Summer at 24 was effortlessly elegant. Clad in an endless cloud of filmy, white chiffon that left her shoulders and arms bare, cinched her tiny waist in even further and ornamented only by tiny diamonds on her lobes, she took his breath away.  
  
Summer squirmed uneasily under Seth's unusually intense gaze. "Is it too much? Actually too little? I can change. Just give me a sec.."  
  
Before she could turn, Seth caught her arm gently and silently shook his head. Taking the rose from her trembling fingers, he affixed it carefully in her chignon. Summer felt her breathing become ragged. This was the closest he had been to her in so long. She could smell his cologne and aftershave mixed with the scent of soap and the sea. She closed her eyes and fought the urge to rest her head against his shoulder. He lowered his lips to her ear and whispered, ruffling wisps of her hair, "You were always better than them. You never believed it but I always knew it. Trust me."  
  
She slowly opened her eyes and looked into his. In his soft eyes, she saw disarming honesty and frank admiration, all that he had been too petrified to say and all that she had been too petrified to see. Swept up in the delicate emotion, she laid a hand on his cheek and stood on tiptoe to place a tender kiss close to his lips.  
  
"Miss, you left your purse..Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't know..."  
  
Seth and Summer hurriedly righted themselves. Summer silently took her purse and distractedly muttered her thanks. Avoiding Seth's gaze, she took his offered arm and walked down the steps, deep in thought.  
  
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Summer walked warily into the spectacularly chandeliered hall, bedecked with roses and candles. She unconsciously gripped Seth's arm as she heard the conversations lull and saw the heads snapping up in surprise. She desperately wanted to turn and run. Seth put a steadying hand over hers and mouthed confidently, "Trust me."  
  
Their unexpected entrance had caused a minor spectacle and their individual handling of the situation was a measure of how much both of them had changed. Seth, once the quiet mocker, now cut through the swathes of well- dressed people with a practiced ease and assurance, guiding Summer away from the searching eyes and whispered questions. Summer, who not too long ago had been Newport's boldest junior queen bee in training, steadfastly kept her head down, avoiding all the discreet but unabashedly inquisitive stares, following Seth's lead till he came to a halt on the terrace. There, sitting on a lone table, covered with a snow-white cloth, strewn rose- petals and tiny candle-lit lanterns were a bottle of Moët, chilling in a silver bucket and crystal bowls of mint-chocolate chip ice cream. Summer looked at him gratefully, stumbling to express her heartfelt gratitude. But Seth put a stilling hand to her lips, arched an expressive eyebrow and asked simply, "Champagne?" 


End file.
